NATION AND WORLD
University Daily Kansan, July 24, 1985
Page 2
Compiled from wire reports
Bird guilty of killing wife
Taking just six hours to deliberate, a Lyon County jury in Emporia yesterday found the Rev. Thomas Bird guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Sandra, whom prosecutors said Bird killed by throwing her off a bridge.
Bird looked surprised as the verdict was read but showed little other emotion. As a guard escorted him from the court room, Bird told a reporter he was disappointed at the verdict.
The nine-man, three-woman jury deliberated about three hours Monday and three hours yesterday before returning a verdict at about 11:35 p.m.
District Judge Gary Rulon set sentencing for 1 p.m. on Aug. 7. Under state law, Bird, 35, must be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 15 years.
Bird, a Lutheran minister, already is serving a sentence of two years to seven years in the state penitentiary for a conviction last summer of criminal solicitation to kill Martin Anderson, the husband of his former church secretary, Lorma Anderson. That conviction is being appealed.
Wolf Creek partners unsigned
An executive of the Kansas Electric Power Cooperative Inc. yesterday told utility regulators in Topka that the group of rural electric co-ops still has $250,000 in debt and is in the $3.05 billion Wolf Creek nuclear power plant.
the 55,000 union members of KEPCo. Charles Ross, executive vice president of KEPCo. testified at rate hearings before the Kansas Corporation Commission about the company's request for $27 million in higher wholesale rates to its 25 co-op members and the 96,500 Kansans served by them.
He also alerted the commission about an incident at the plant early yesterday when faulty wiring caused a water pump to malfunction and triggered a complete shutdown of the plant.
He said that the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pa., in 1979 caused KEPCo to immediately re-examine its decision to join the project.
However, he said, the prospect of increased governmental regulation in the wake of the accident was not serious enough to cause KEPCo to abandon Wolf Creek.
Rock Hudson may have AIDS
Actor Rock Hudson, last of the traditional square-jawed, romantic leading men known recently for his TV roles on "McMillan & Wife" and "Dynasty," is suffering from inoperable liver cancer possibly linked to acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a spokesman for Hudson said yesterday in Hollywood.
Dale Olsen, spokesman for the 59-year-old actor, said there have been conflict diagnoses from various doctors that the long-time movie star was suffering from AIDS, cancer, or both.
He was hospitalized yesterday at Institute Pasteur in Paris, a leading center for the treatment of AIDS, which breaks down the body's immune system against the hospital. The hospital issued no official comment on Hudson.
"Rock is currently in a Paris hospital where his doctor said he has cancer of the liver and it is not operable." Olson said. "The doctor also said there were indications of cancer in his blood.
"But this doctor said there was no indication of AIDS.
"However, we have had reports from other doctors that Rock was suffering from AIDS. We simply don't know. The reports have been confused."
Craft's lawyer wants rehearing
A three-member appellate court panel denied former Kansas City, Mo., anchorman Christine Craft her constitutional right to a jury trial when it reversed a guilty plea. The attorney charged yesterday in asking for a rehearing.
Dennis Egan, the attorney, in a petition asking for a rehearing before the full 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said the opinion of the three-judge panel violated all rules of appellate court review.
The panel ruled June 18 that Metromedia Inc., former owners of KMBC-TV where Craft worked, had not defrauded the newswoman by promising "no makeover or substantial changes" in her appearance and then requiring her to spend long hours working with clothing and appearance consultants.
The ruling reversed the $235,000 award given to Craft by a 12-member jury in Joolin, Mo., on Jan. 13.
The panel also uphold an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Stevens Jr. that set aside a
$500,000 verdict for Craft by a six-member jury in Kansas City, Mo., in August 1983.
Chinese leader visits Reagan
President Reagan, making his first official public appearance since his cancer surgery, welcomed Chinese President Li Xiannian in Washington yesterday and said a solid foundation on good will had begun in U.S.-Sino relations.
Reagan, pale and sounding hoarse, looked thinner in his dark blue suit than when he entered Bethesda Naval Hospital 10 days ago for the removal of a cancerous tumor.
In his brief remarks at a South Lawn ceremony, which was scaled down to accommodate his recuperation, Reagan noted the progress over the past 13 years in relations between the two countries in trade, cultural and educational exchanges, efforts to control narcotics and terrorism, and their common stand against aggression.
2 arrested for Greenpeace blast
Two people were arrested yesterday in Auckland, New Zealand, for blowing up and sinking the Rainbow Warrior, flagship of the Greenery environmental initiative in the island harbor. One crewman was killed in the explosion.
Police spokesman Sergeant Trevor Tizer said a man and a woman, who were not identified, were taken into custody yesterday in Auckland.
"A man and a woman will appear in the Auckland court Wednesday, charged with murder, arson and conspiracy to commit arson." he said at a news conference.
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CABLE TV MEETING
A public meeting will be held before the Douglas County Commission to consider cable carriage of all television stations licensed to cities within Douglas County.
When: Thursday, July 25 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Douglas County Courthouse, 11th & Mass., 2nd floor
We at TV 30 believe that we and all television stations originating local service to the people of Douglas County should be carried on the local cable systems.
If you agree with this principle, we ask that you attend this public meeting to show your interest.
The World Company, which owns the Sunflower cable system and the Journal World, has denied our requests for cable carriage.
We believe, like Thomas Jefferson, that a democracy requires an informed electorate and different points of view must be exposed to the public.
PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
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